The highest court in Massachusetts has affirmed the conviction of a Brockton man who was charged with first degree murder after he beat a man to death with a hammer and slashed his neck with a sharp tool.

In a decision written by Justice Roderick Ireland, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled against Lawrence Bynum-Harris on Wednesday. Bynum-Harris was appealing his case on a number of grounds, including: the handling of his mental health evidence and the denial of the motion to suppress his confession.

Bynum-Harris was charged with killing Claudio Montrond, 22, in Brockton in in August 2007.